Confessions of a Homeschool Dad - Homeschool Blogger

Texas Mandates STD Vaccine for 9-year-old Girls

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 15:52:01 -0600

By now, most of you (even from such foreign lands as Massachusetts and Californy) have heard the the (conservative Republican) Governor of Texas has mandated that 9-year-old girls have the vaccine for HPV (Human Papiloma Virus).

Now, I won't disagree that HPV is and ugly, ugly thing.

Just in case you don't know, HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that appears to cause cervical cancer in women. And it sits dormant for 10-20 or more years. And the most at-risk group (young, sexually active women) won't know they've got it until it's too late (PAP smear is the only way to detect it). Oh, and the HPV virus is both so small that <a href="http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/stdhpv.htm" target="nih" alt="HPV through pores on condom">it will go through the pores in a condom</a> and spread through skin-to-skin contact as well.

Hence, there is no such thing as "safe sex" where HPV is concerned. That's why <a href="http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:68nJkpG6z58J:www.josh.org/notes/file/Teen-Abstinence.pdf" target="josh" alt="CDC Calls for Abstinence">the CDC has said that the best defense is abstinence.</a>

Apparently nobody in power in the Great State of Texas has heard about that, nor are they concerned that <a href=http://lonestartimes.com/2007/02/14/hpv-vaccine-safe-as-tylenol-are-you-sure/" target="lst" alt="Lone Star Times: HPV Vaccine As Safe As Tylenol - Are You Sure?">the HPV vaccination might not be safe</a>.

The only good news is that the requirement for this vaccine, much like most others, is being propagated by making it a requirement to get into public school. Prior to entering 6th grade.

How about this for a new homeschooling slogan: "Home Schools. Where your children aren't lab rats."

Texas Mandates STD Vaccine for 9-year-old Girls

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 15:52:00 -0600

Passing Out Bibles Now An Arrestable Offense

Fri, 9 Feb 2007 10:16:00 -0600

Yes, in America. <a href="http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54150" target="wnd" alt="World Net Daily: Gideons arrested for passing out bibles">Those darn radical Gideons</a>!

We should just jail them all now and save society lots of trouble...

And this was in Florida, not California!

Christianity and Cultural Relevance

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 06:43:00 -0600

Yes, I know I haven't posted in awhile. I guess I've been busy and haven't had much burning inside of me. Until the other day.

I was in the grocery store with my kids doing some grocery shopping (helping out my wonderful wife) when I ran into a member of leadership from our old church. We talked a little bit and he mentioned their new drive to be "culturally relevant" in all of their ministries and services.

I'm not exactly sure how I looked when he said that, but I imagine that it was not a friendly look. "Cultural Relevance" is why we left that church and will never darken it's doorstep again.

In fact, upon further reflection, I discovered that Christianity has NEVER been culturally relevant. For instance:

* Christianity is foolishness in a world of the wise.
* It is peace in a world of war.
* It is the meek will inherit the earth in a world of crushing those in your way.
* It is seek ye first the Kingdom of God in a world of what's in it for me.
* It is goodness in a world where evil is ignored.
* It is giving your first fruits to God in a world of pay me first.
* It is turn the other cheek in a world of destroy your enemies.
* It is spare the rod and spoil the child in a world where we're supposed to convince children to be good because we "had a talk".
* It is do all that you do as to the Lord, rather than for man in a world of politics, backstabbing, and very little actual work.
* It is sell everything and follow Me in a world honoring wealth and accumulation.
* It is modesty in a world where mothers dress their daughters "sexy" from age 4.
* It is male leadership and female submission in a world where women are pre-eminent and men are suspect.
* It is love and acceptance in a world of hate and self-protection.
* It is grace freely given in a world where everything must be earned.
* It is peace, be still in a world where the activity never stops.
* It is the Word in a world that can't be bothered to read.
* It is the Truth for all people in all places in all times in a world of relativism.
* It is whatever you do to the least of these, you do to Me in a world of pushing around and shoving aside the powerless.
* It is 'til death do you part, for better OR worse, for richer OR poorer, in sickness AND in heath in a world of marriages of convenience.
* It is loving your wife as Christ loved the church in a world of fad diets, dermabrasion, and plastic surgery.
* It is God's design in a world of man's desires.
* It is honor thy father and mother in a world of out of control youth.
* It is a one-on-one relationship of God in a world of self-help advisors.
* It is the One, True God in a world where we are our own gods.
* It is humble, sacrificial service in a world of people demanding to be served.
* It is justice in a world where the laws are enforced inversely proportionally to the amount of money you have.
* It is love your neighbor as yourself in a world of self-obsession.
* It is holy, holy, holy in a world of the profane.

I'm sure you can add your own to this list. There is a reason that Satan is called "The Prince of this World". And it is reflected in the culture.

Christianity is not now, has never been, nor will ever be "Culturally Relevant".

Praise God!

Fun, FREE, Family Christmastime Entertainment

Thu, 7 Dec 2006 10:55:00 -0600

Have you noticed that most ads (TV and otherwise) are slightly manipulative? I worried about that in conjunction with my kids seeing some of them.

So, I devised a little game.

Here's the basics: Most ads, in an effort to be new and different OR to make something mundane seem a lot greater, will push the line of truth.

They won't actively lie to you (as it's illegal and they're not fond of jail), but they'll strongly imply things that probably aren't true.

The game is this - whenever there's a commercial on during Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (or whatever Christmas favorites you're watching as a family), be the first to point out the implication that leads to a false assumption.

AN EXAMPLE

For instance, many of you have seen those Head On commercials ("Head On! Head On! Apply Directly To the Forehead! Head On!"). Notice that, while they imply that it should cure a headache, nowhere in the ad does it make ANY claims as to headache curing.

In fact, it's the same if you look <a href="http://www.headon.com/" target="headon">at their website</a>. Here are the claims there:

1) Apply Directly to the Forehead
2) Available without a prescription.
3) Safe to use.

Nothing about "making a headache stop in 10 minutes" or, in fact, anything about headaches. Just that it's safe, available without prescription, and you should apply it directly to your forehead.

You could make the same, exact statements about water. Or potatoes. Or Chap Stick. Or bark mulch.

Now - try this out at your house and see how much fun it is (while, subversively, teaching your kids about the reality of ads).

I Know I've Got Pretty Good Kids When...

Tue, 5 Dec 2006 09:19:00 -0600

Child 1, the oldest, when told to go take a shower asks, "Can I clean up my room first?"

Child 2, the middlest, is singing the "Books of the Old Testament" song (better than the oldest) while doing chores.

Child 3, barely 2 and barely talking, gets excited when it's chore time and runs to the bathroom to retrieve toothbrush and toothpaste and brings them to me so that she can have her teeth brushed like a big girl.

Okay, maybe I won't have to sell them after all.

How Many People Would Make An Important Decision This Way?

Fri, 1 Dec 2006 06:42:00 -0600

There's a lot of ways to make an important decision. God gave us a mind to determine what decision might be more honoring to Him. Prayer is always an important part.

But, after all that, what would you do to make the decision?

I will admit that my faith has been too small to do it the way thay did in the Bible:

[Judas has deserted and the Apostles are holding a meeting of the disciples to determine who will be his replacement.] "And they proposed two: Joseph, called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosed to take part in this ministry....

"And they case their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles"

So, they used their brains to figure out the two best candidates. That makes sense.

Then they prayed to God to pick the right guy. Absolutely the thing to do.

And then they cast lots. Huh? Cast lots?

Apparently they, unlike me (at least up until this point!) had faith enough that God could make a choice through casting lots (which apparently meant putting each of their names on a stone, putting the stones in a jar, and shaking the jar until one stone popped out). That is, manipulating our physical environment.

Frankly, I never thought of that. I'm pretty sure that most of the Church would ridicule that method. I'm sure the World would ridicule it.

That's a pretty good sign it's the right thing to do. I'm going to give it a shot on my next big decision....

How about you? Could you do this for major decisions?

Anyone Know A Quiet Alternative to Sweeping?

Mon, 4 Dec 2006 06:32:00 -0600

I know this sounds like an odd question. But, consider the source...

In any case, our 7-year-old has the job of "getting junk off of the floor". Sometimes, this is called "sweeping", however, you haven't seen this child's coordination.

So, until she grows into her final, graceful form, we've got her using one of those <A href="http://www.dirtdevil.com/Products/productDetail.aspx?id=32177" target="dd">"stick vacs"</a>.

For those of you who haven't tried them (at least, the type that we use), they can be heard clear across town. When she turns it on, animals in a 10 mile radius take shelter. In other words, it's really loud.

So, I was wondering if anyone has discovered a hard-surface (wood / tile) floor cleaning device that might save all of our hearing.

Oh, yeah. Cheaper is better, too!

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

We Never Realize How Little We Know

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 08:28:00 -0600

We're still figuring out how they did things before computers were around. Apparently, we forget that there were plenty of extraordinarily smart and talented people around before our own lifetimes.

<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20061129/sc_livescience/scientistsunravelmysteryofancientgreekmachine" target="calc">Here's a device</a> that could track the sun, moon, and all visible planets through their irregular orbits.

Keep in mind that the Earth, which is itself orbiting the Sun, is constantly changing its position relative to all of these cellestial objects and, since they are orbiting the Sun in a different track, so are they.

About this device (apparently), <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/la-sci-calculator30nov30,1,4788760.story?ctrack=1&cset=true" target="latimes">Cicero "wrote</a> that Posidonius had made an instrument 'which at each revolution reproduces the same motions of the sun, the moon and the five planets that take place in the heavens every day and night.'"

In the never-ending conceit that "we're smart and everyone before us is a cute, well-meaning, ignorant Neanderthal", the LA Times article concludes with, "Historians have generally dismissed Cicero's words as extravagant or even mythic, but the new discoveries suggest he may have been correct."

Hmmmm....I wonder what, or who, else that the "ancients" wrote about might be correct...

Childrens' Innoculation with the American Virus Keeps Us Safe!

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 06:46:00 -0600

With all that's going on in our world, it's understandable that some folks get a bit jumpy at the thought of terrorism. Particularly local terrorism.

While I understand that "only 1%" of Muslims ascribe to any radical, bomb-your-way-to-96-virgins sort of theology, that still numbers somewhere around 10,000,000 people.

And how do I know that my next door neighbor isn't one of them?

The answer, if they have kids, is that the American Virus is keeping us safe.

THE AMERICAN VIRUS

I have been to a number of devout Muslim homes over the last few months. I don't mean the ones where the women are wearing just a headscarf as a tribute to their religion. No, they're so caught up in "Western" fashion (it's interesting to see the headscarf with a tight shirt and tight jeans) that they obviously aren't going to be bombing anyone or raising little bombers.

I mean the full-on, burqua-wearing, "can't be seen outside my house by a man" Muslims. Even these housholds are infected by the American Virus.

What is the American Virus? It is everything about the culture that people cross hundreds of miles of open water in a raft to get to. It is the freedom to do more or less what you want without a government official snatching you in the night. It is the hyper-availability of everything, all the time.

WHAT INFECTION LOOKS LIKE

In these devout Muslim households that I've visited, I've noticed that the children have been infected and have started to infect their parents.

There are 3 TVs blaring "Dora the Expolorer" while children on some sort of sugar high chase each other around with Light Sabers. The kids rooms are wallpapered in SpongeBob SquarePants / My Little Pony wallpaper and filled to the gills with Barbie and Transformers toys.

Their parents might not like parts of the culture (heck - *I* don't like large parts of the culture!), but they love the freedom. The love the junk. And they've been infected with the American Virus.

These are not people who are going to strap on a bomb tomorrow (even a "My Little Pony" bomb) and end it all.

So, feel free to worry a little less, America. More effective than anything Homeland Security can come up with, The American Virus is keeping us safe in our own country.